Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor technologies and methods for multi-surface displays

Abstract

Apparatuses, systems, and methods are provided for ultrasonic fingerprint sensors that feature an ultrasonic transmitter and multiple subsets of ultrasonic sensor pixels, each subset of ultrasonic sensor pixels associated with a different ultrasonically sensitive display surface, at least two of which are non-coplanar with one another. In some implementations, the ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces may be provided by different portions of a flexible display that has been flexed into a configuration in which two or more portions thereof are non-coplanar. In some instances, a controller may be provided that selectively reads ultrasonic sensor signals from subset(s) of the ultrasonic sensor pixels that are associated with the ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces that a touch-sensing system indicates are experiencing touch events.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An apparatus comprising:
 an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor system including a plurality of ultrasonic sensor pixels disposed within one or more layer stacks, each layer stack having at least a corresponding piezoelectric layer and a corresponding electrode layer and each ultrasonic sensor pixel configured to generate a corresponding ultrasonic sensor signal responsive to that ultrasonic sensor pixel detecting passage of an ultrasonic wave therethrough; 
 a display system including at least one display, the display system including a plurality of ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces, each ultrasonically sensitive display surface associated with a different subset of display pixels of the display system and a different subset of the ultrasonic sensor pixels, wherein at least two of the ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces are not co-planar with each other; and 
 an ultrasonic transmitter that is not coextensive with the ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces and not part of any of the one or more layer stacks, the ultrasonic transmitter configured to transmit one or more ultrasonic waves responsive to receipt of one or more input signals, wherein the apparatus is defined by a plurality of rigid outermost surfaces that include the ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces. 
 
     
     
       2. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the ultrasonic transmitter is configured to emit one or more ultrasonic waves that pass through all of the ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces. 
     
     
       3. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the ultrasonic transmitter is the only ultrasonic transmitter in the apparatus configured to be used to provide ultrasonic waves for detection by the ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces. 
     
     
       4. The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a housing, wherein:
 the housing has a front side and a rear side facing in an opposite direction from the front side, and 
 a first ultrasonically sensitive display surface of the ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces is on the front side of the housing and a second ultrasonically sensitive display surface of the ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces is on the rear side of the housing. 
 
     
     
       5. The apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein:
 the housing has an edge side spanning between the front side and the rear side, and 
 a third ultrasonically sensitive display surface of the ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces is on the edge side. 
 
     
     
       6. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the ultrasonic transmitter is not in the form of a thin sheet. 
     
     
       7. The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the ultrasonic transmitter has a prismatic or cylindrical solid shape. 
     
     
       8. The apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein:
 the ultrasonic transmitter has a shape that is substantially proportional to a shape of the housing, and 
 the ultrasonic transmitter is substantially centered within the housing. 
 
     
     
       9. The apparatus of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 a touch-sensing system configured to independently detect when one or more of the ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces experiences a touch event, and 
 a controller configured to:
 a) receive touch data from the touch-sensing system indicating one or more touch events for a subset of one or more of the ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces, 
 b) cause, responsive to (a), the ultrasonic transmitter to transmit one or more ultrasonic waves, and 
 c) obtain, responsive to (a), ultrasonic sensor signals from the ultrasonic sensor pixels associated with at least one ultrasonically sensitive display surface in the subset of one or more ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces. 
 
 
     
     
       10. The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the controller is further configured to obtain fingerprint data based, at least in part, on the ultrasonic sensor signals. 
     
     
       11. The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the fingerprint data is for between 1 and 10 fingers. 
     
     
       12. The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the controller is further configured to perform an authentication process using the fingerprint data. 
     
     
       13. The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
 d) detect when the touch data received from the touch-sensing system indicates that a first ultrasonically sensitive display surface and a second ultrasonically sensitive display surface of the plurality of ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces are both experiencing simultaneous touch events, and 
 e) obtain, responsive to detecting that the touch data received from the touch-sensing system indicates that the first ultrasonically sensitive display surface and the second ultrasonically sensitive display surface of the plurality of ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces are both experiencing simultaneous touch events, first ultrasonic sensor signals from the first ultrasonically sensitive display surface and second ultrasonic sensor signals from the second ultrasonically sensitive display surface. 
 
     
     
       14. The apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the controller is further configured to obtain the first ultrasonic sensor signals from the first ultrasonically sensitive display surface for one or more time periods that are different from one or more time periods for which the second ultrasonic sensor signals are obtained. 
     
     
       15. The apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
 obtain first fingerprint data based, at least in part, on the first ultrasonic sensor signals, and 
 obtain second fingerprint data based, at least in part, on the second ultrasonic sensor signals. 
 
     
     
       16. The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the controller is further configured to perform an authentication process using the first fingerprint data and the second fingerprint data. 
     
     
       17. A method comprising:
 generating an omnidirectional ultrasonic wave responsive to receipt of one or more input signals and using an ultrasonic transmitter located within a housing of an apparatus having a) a display system with at least one display and a plurality of ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces, at least two of which are non-coplanar and each of which is associated with a different plurality of display pixels, and b) a plurality of ultrasonic sensor pixels, wherein each ultrasonic sensor pixel is associated with a different one of the ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces and the ultrasonic transmitter is not coextensive with the ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces; and 
 obtaining ultrasonic sensor signals from a subset of the ultrasonic sensor pixels associated with at least one of the ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces. 
 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 17 , further comprising causing the omnidirectional ultrasonic wave to pass through all of the ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces. 
     
     
       19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
 cause an ultrasonic transmitter located within a housing of an apparatus to generate an omnidirectional ultrasonic wave responsive to receipt of one or more input signals, the apparatus having a) a display system with at least one display and a plurality of ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces, at least two of which are non-coplanar and each of which is associated with a different plurality of display pixels, and b) a plurality of ultrasonic sensor pixels, wherein each ultrasonic sensor pixel is associated with a different one of the ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces and the ultrasonic transmitter is not coextensive with the ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces; and 
 cause ultrasonic sensor signals to be obtained from a subset of the ultrasonic sensor pixels associated with at least one of the ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces. 
 
     
     
       20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 19 , wherein the omnidirectional ultrasonic wave is caused to pass through all of the ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces.